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After discovering this place, reading a news article I decided to take a look. Theres not a great deal of history on this place other than the fact it was used as a home for ww2 soldiers after coming back from war. It's been home to several owners of the years however the place has fallen into disrepair. The manor is currently up for sale.
The explore itself went really well, after making our way through the grounds and finding an entrance, we were greeted with a stunning pool, with paintings on every wall. As we moved further on we found a sauna, bar, a superb inside courtyard, a huge basement complete with model railway and what looked like a full size tank made of wood, whoever previously lived in the manor was clearly very creative... The vast majority of rooms have Been emptied out however a few furnishings still remain. We made our way onto the roof when we noticed a man walking down the drive towards the manor, we noticed him walk around checking through the windows before leaving again. Must have been looking after the place and making sure nothing was damaged. We didn't get caught however so that's a bonus!
Since then we have been back however our original entrance had been sealed back up.
PHOTOS:
https://500px.com/serenity4urbex/galleries/pool-manor

A piece of British WW2 History hidden under a hillside. HMS Forward, a maritime intelligence centre, was key to monitoring the English channel and and was heavily involved in D-Day. Although it's fallen into dereliction, attempts to restore and maintain it have been carried out by 'Friends of HMS Forward'.
History
HMS Forward was the Royal Naval HQ, setup up on the 20th of June 1940 in the Guinness Trust Holiday Home.
It had responsibility for units along the south cost, including:
HMS Marlborough - Eastbourne
HMS Aggressive - Newhaven
HMS New - Newaven
HMS Vernon - Roedean
HMS Lizard - Hove
The tunnels of HMS Forward began life in March 1941 after an Admiralty direction that ordered channel ports to setup facilities to maintain naval plots and created the need to securely house equipment for plotting and communications. It was decided to built a network of tunnels into the a hillside of South Heighton for operations to take place from.
HMS Forward was designed by Lt. Col. F.H.Foster, Commander of the Royal Engineers, and built by the 1st Tunneling Engineers Group and No 172 Tunneling Company. They were completed on the 14th of November 1941.
At the time they were a state of the art facility and were kitted out for every eventuality. This including backup power generator and full air conditioning systems with gas filters. They had chemical toilets, sleeping cabins and a gallery. Although the toilet were for emergencies only and it was noted that he veterans who worked here didn't even have knowledge of these toilets.
The labyrinth of tunnels had an East and West entrance. The West entrance by the main road was the main entrance. The East entrance was under the West wing of the Guinness Trust Holiday Home (now demolished).
There were two Pill boxes at the top of the hill that were accessible from inside the tunnels, but were demolished long ago.
During its operational period between November 1941 and August 1945, the tunnels of HMS Forward carried out many key maritime operations. It monitored the English channel from Dungeness to Selsy Bill using ten radar stations from Fairlight to Bogner Regis.
It was heavily involved with D-Day as well as nightly raids on the occupied french coast.
The Explore
A very nice explore in a very nice set of tunnels. They are quite extensive and is quite the maze, however once you get your head round the layout its impossible to get lost.
Its quite a shame that such an important piece of history has been left to rot. This is somewhere that really needs to be preserved for future generation. I'd heard that there was intention to turn it into a museum some time ago, but plans for this got scuppered by the local residents up top.
It was clear that there was once some kind of open day as there were still laminated signs and notices left up by the 'Friends of HMS Forward'.
Photos
The West entrance with signs and notices from a previous open day / tour. Looks like it was a good few years ago though. You can see here what looks like a machine gun nest in the brick wall as you turn the very first corner.
The large security gate of the West entrance.
The long 100m West adit tunnel looking towards the east end.
Looking from the East end of the West Adit. The two tunnels going left and right just before are the stairs up to the South and North Pill boxes.
Looking up what remains of the stairs to the Northern Pillboxes. It is possible go up to the top of these, but its been sealed up at the top with rubble.
The West Airlock.
The Air conditioning plant room and standby generator room. The standby generator was a large diesel JP Lister engine. This provided 400V/230V power at 22Kw. Exhaust was piped through to the annex at the back of the engine room where it was exhausted through the ceiling too the surface through a 4" pipe.
The start of the operational rooms of the tunnel. The room on the left side is the TURCO Office, and looking right down the long tunnel is down the length of the main tunnel with sleeping cabins.
T.U.R.C.O stands for Turn Round Control Organisation, used to 'Assist naval shore authorities in the quick turn around of ships and craft'.
The East gallery was used for sleep accommodation, switchboards and coders.
The GPO Voice frequency equipment room. The pits in the floor are to fit the equipment in, as the modems were over 8ft tall.
Looking down the East Galley and into the Teleprinters room.
Looking down the the far end of the plotting rooms.
The sleeping cabins. There were 4 of these for personnel on the night duty and split watches.
Looking up towards the mock hen house, sealed at the top of course.
The stairs up to the eastern entrance with pit at the bottom to slow down would-be invaders.
The gate on the way to the East entrance.
The remains of a second gate.
Thanks for reading!

History -
This was the central site for Britain's codebreakers during World War II. Run by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), it regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers – most importantly the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The official historian of World War II British Intelligence has written that the "Ultra" intelligence produced at Bletchley shortened the war by two to four years, and that without it the outcome of the war would have been uncertain.
Explore -
This was the second site (after a fail) on an awesome road trip with @CuriousityKilledTheCat, Sprinks and a couple of non OS members.
After seeing reports on this before we went this was one place I really wanted to see because of the amount of history it held, and the role it played during the second world war....
when we pulled up, it wasn't looking promising because the block was boarded up to high hell, but we'd managed to get in...
We spent quite a while in here, exploring the never ending corridors & amazed by the piles of equipment from computers to radios to decibel readers.
definitely an explore to remember!
Enjoy
Thanks For Looking

The Murphy Ranch is a ranch built in Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles in the 1930s by Winona and Norman Stephens,who were sympathizers of the Silver Legion of America.The owner of record in 1933 was Jessie M. Murphy. Designed as a base for Nazi activities in the U.S.,[4] it was intended to be capable of being self-sustaining for long periods. The compound had a water storage tank, a fuel tank, a bomb shelter, and various outbuildings and bunkers. The estate's main gate was designed by Paul Williams, a well-known African-American architect in the Southern California area.

A bit of history:
this beatifull hotel has been built in 1936. it used to be a very luxurious place during pre ww2 times. It was an infamous place, with guests like: the british queen, Bjorn Borg and the belgian national football team.
During the second world war it's purpose changed, no more fancy hotel, it was converted to the headquarters of the Germans up until 1944. After being retaken by the Americans it was used as a headquarters and barracks for nearby stationed reconnaissance pilots, who would coordinate the attacks against the v2 missile installations and sites.
After the war it reopened an hotel, but 1978 the hotel closed and the ministry of education bought the place to be used as an all girl boarding school.
The place closed down in 2011.
my visit:
it was a nice day in spring when i went there.
After almost giving up hope on getting in there, i tried one more option. i had looked at it before, but i thought to myself that would have been impossible to open.
Anyways we got in, started looking around, taking the pictures of what used to be the restaurant part of the hotel.
nothing to fancy, but still nice. above the fire place used to be a plaque honoring the merits of this place during the war. they removed it so it wouldn't fall prey to vandals.
next we ventured into the lobby.
the bar
and one of the other rooms. as you can see on the old picture, it used to be quite cosy.
After these pictures we went upstairs, but i didn't have the chance to take more pictures. we saw 3 other men walking up to the place so we had to hide in the cellar.
Turns out it was the real estate agent who would show people around. we didn't take any chances and just stayed hidden in the cellar. luckily the one shined there flashlight in the cellar while explaining something and then continued with their tour.
We had to stay hidden for one more hour before we could make our escape.
But, to be honest, the other levels of the building were a bit trashed.

Lovely trip to see this place; I think its been a while since it was photographed.
Sometimes you often find yourselves questioning why we do the things we do… today was no exception.
Migraines, hidden holes, rubble every where and bad air! not to mention the occasional squeeze
Still had to be done and feel very fortunate to have seen this place,
Despite the state of me and the location!
Bit O history..
There was a prevailing mood in the Government against deep shelters being built for the protection of large numbers of civilians. Their effectiveness from high explosive bombs was questioned, based on reports of their performance in the Spanish Civil War, and there were also concerns about costs. The Government’s preference for almost two decades had been for smaller, dispersed shelters, and so the large deep shelters that went ahead all had very specific causes, such as their being in areas with previously excavated mines and tunnels, or eminently suitable geological conditions, or even very determined local authorities who were willing to risk losing government grants to build the shelters they wanted.
However when the Blitz started in the autumn of 1940 policy changed and permission was granted for the two large civilian shelters Grant funding was generous given the need to protect the skilled workers.
The shelter was in the side of the hill allowing access at grade into two main entrances, while at the uphill end a 25m ventilation shaft was sunk, doubling up as an emergency escape via a series of steep metal ladders. The tunnels in between these ends were cut out in a familiar gridiron layout, with four long perpendicular tunnels fed at both ends from the two main entrances, and eleven cross tunnels. Toilets, a canteen, and a first aid post were provided either in the cross tunnels or at tunnel intersection nodes. Within this 1596 bunks and 793 seats were provided for those lucky enough to have the requisite shelter permit.
Construction began in December 1941 and was largely completed within a year, having suffered from escalating costs, geological problems, an unskilled labour force, and also paradoxically trespassers and vandalism. The original intention was that the tunnels would be 2.1m wide and 2.0m high with an arched roof, but the surviving tunnels are considerably larger than this. Records indicate that the considerable height came about following roof trimming required in the latter stages of the project due to the softness of the rock and problems with instability after exposure to the air.
The shelter, like many of the deep shelters reluctantly approved by the Government, came too late to provide mass protection during the periods of heaviest bombing. After the war it was used for customs and excise storage, fire brigade training, and was even considered for Cold War use but rejected due to extensive dry rot. The Local Borough Council visited in the 1950’s to see if they could find a use for it, but disapprovingly recorded it to be “damp, dark and featureless” and it has been sealed in recent times. Local groups in the last decade have looked at ways of reopening it as a tourist attraction, and hopefully one day will be successful.
Thanks for looking
More pics
http://www.the-elusive.uk/

This was another of those fab days out, Just driving around and checking out stuff I had been wanting to see for a while that had popped up online. So myself Zyge, littlebear and Spark headed out for the day to avoid massive nettles and horsefly bites..... Something that I did not manage all to well 1st stop was a area called Hillbilly farm, this was linked to RAF Fersfield and the land incorporates some of the old nissen huts and a few other out buildings as well. Inside some of these buildings you will see there are all sorts of vehicles and other bits of junk, most of what nature has now reclaimed. There is not a lot of history on the farm itself other than the farmer did not want to sell it off as he was worried about being ripped of, how true this is I am not sure, but the airfield history I feel is important as most of what there is to see incorporates the building that are there. The runway is now gone as are all airfield building that we looked for, but you can still drive around the taxi way if you wish Built in 1943/1944, the airfield was originally a satellite of RAF Knettishall. It was constructed to Class A bomber specifications, with a main 6,000 ft (1,800 m) runway (08/26), and two secondary runways (02/20, 14/32) of 4,200 ft (1,300 m). Accommodation for about 2,000 personnel were in Nissen huts along with an operations block and two T-2 hangars. The facility was originally named Winfarthing when it was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces in 1942. Assigned to the VIII Bomber Command, it was renamed Fersfield when used by the Americans. Winfarthing was assigned USAAF station number 140; Fersfield was reassigned 554. Not used by the USAAF, it was transferred to the United States Navy for operational use. The airfield is most notable as the operational airfield for Operation Aphrodite, a secret plan for remote controlled Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers (redesignated as BQ-7s) to be used against German V-1 flying bomb sites, submarine pens, or deep fortifications that had resisted conventional bombing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Atlantic wall. Discovered these whilst driving west of Calais whilst waiting for my ferry back to the UK No idea what this used to be - there are a few of these in the landscape & most have been taken over by the local farmers. Open bunker 01 by Infraredd, on Flickr Open bunker 02 by Infraredd, on Flickr Open bunker 03 inside by Infraredd, on Flickr This is also part of the same defensive structure db 1 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 3 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 4 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 6 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 7 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 8 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 10 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 11 by Infraredd, on Flickr db 12 by Infraredd, on Flickr This is what a similar bunker looks like restored and museumefied Batterie 01 by Infraredd, on Flickr Batterie 02 by Infraredd, on Flickr Batterie 03 by Infraredd, on Flickr Batterie 05 Armoury by Infraredd, on Flickr Batterie 09 Rail gun by Infraredd, on Flickr Thanks for looking.

Took a trip with with a fellow explorer one night after spotting an entrance. We descended 4 the flight staircase deep into the ground and where confronted by a flooded passage, I was immediately thankful i had brought my wellies (unlike Bubblehead, who had a very squelchy explore). We waded through to emerge into a large underground tunnel, corrugated walls, the reminisce of a narrow gauge railway and the strong smell of diesel. I got the the guided tour of the main features, few of which have survived, although what remained made for some great shots, including the male toilets while looked like it was straight out of Trainspotting. Anyone for a dip? Played around with lighting quite a lot down here and was very pleased with the results. And Finally the worst bog in the Midlands award goes tooo...

Right this explore has been in the planning for a few days..It was a previous report that kind of got me interested in both the ww2 tunnels and the cable works..
My self and space invader decided that we should give this place a go, few text’s later and obscurity and maniac where on board and after talking to kheridr I found out troglodyte and Peach where planning the same trip same day so after a few calls we decided to all meet up .
The tunnels themselves we where told on site had basically had steel doors attached to metal frames and the only one that hadn’t been sealed wasn’t The easiest of gaps,Big shout out too MR.T for his help as entry was made possible.The tunnels where all id expected and more..nice and clean un chaved and really quite large,after we’d all spent a fairwhile inside we drove to several other locations and to be honest one of the locations none of us bothered to take out cameras out as the place was uninspiring to say the least.So after some debate we headed back to AEI for a look round the cable works itself so a few pics from there to finish off with.
Brief history stolen from underground Kent
The company W T Henley has always been highly regarded for the manufacture of cable and electrical components and was clearly the company of choice when a system had to be devised as a countermeasure to the growing threat of German magnetic mines during the Second World War. As a result, a new site was constructed in 1939 in Gravesend for W T Henley and a complex of tunnels built underneath to provide air raid shelter for the company’s employees
With at least six entrances, the air raid shelter was very clearly signed internally to ensure that there was no confusion when looking for your allocated space. Cut into chalk and lined with prefabricated concrete, the shelter tunnels were well laid out, including first aid areas and numerous latrines – in the form of Elson buckets.
The tunnels themselves don’t seem to have much in the way of documented history unlike the cable works, So for those of you with the lust for info here’s a few links that may interest you!
http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index ... pic=1857.0
http://kenttodayandyesterday.blogspot.c ... fleet.html
On with the pics from what had to have been one of the biggest laughs ive had in ages…
On to the Cable works..Just a couple be rude not too
Thanks to every one on the trip it really was a class day out!

Visited this place with Lynton, Miss CSI, and SteAlTh last year, it has now been sealed up, but a interesting little explore, Enjoy the pics.My camera wasn't the best then, had a cheap old argos number, the others have better ones.
The tiny hole we squeezed through.
Lots of old bottles and rubbish lying about, we think that when pleasurama was on the site they used to put some of there stuff inside this place.
Lots of carvings in the chalk.
This was a nice easy explore.

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Oblivion State exists as an online forum to allow like minded individuals to share their experiences of Urban Exploration. We do not condone breaking and entering or other criminal activity and advise all members to read the FAQ articles about the forum and urban exploring in general. All posts are the responsibility of the original poster and all images remain copyright to the original photographer